When Luck Runs Out: The Stolen Dagger
by Moon's Son. Reborn
Summary: When Artemis's luck runs out she gets convicted for a crime. For this crime, she is turned into a demigod. How will she cope with being... mortal? Alteration of Trials of Apollo. Part one of a six book series.
1. Threats Arriving

**Chapter I: New Threat, Already?**

I opened my eyes slowly. I felt… powerless. Well, not _powerless_ , but less than I was normally. I felt pain all over me, like I had fell off of a skyscraper. Of course I would have died from that if I was a mortal, so my father must have made me mortal when I reached the ground.

I was nearby a forest. It was pretty sunny out, and it cast a glow on the ground and leaves. It was kind of chilly, though. It must've been fall. Last I remember was that it was Summer, after the Second Gigantomachy.

When I was a goddess I was resistant to pain, but my _lesser body_ made it harder to do that. I reached into my pocket, and I felt something inside. I wrapped my hand around a spherical object, and I slowly pulled it out.

Paper was wrapped around it, and I slowly pulled it off. There was a cerulean pearl, and I have to admit that it looked beautiful. I noticed a bit of writing on the paper, and I discerned some Greek and Latin.

The Greek read: _Hello, Artemis, dear. I am sorry for all the misfortunes that I have caused you and your family. I'm not saying I deserve an apology—_ And it ended, just like that. It continues in the Latin writing.

— _because I caused you a lot of trouble, but I will help you. I will not tell you my name yet, but you will find out soon. I am sorry for the false murder allegation._

I didn't know who that was, because honestly, many people have caused trouble to my family. I would have to wait until they revealed their identity. I stood up slowly. When I started to read the letter, my pain had subsided. The "mysterious" writer of that letter must have helped me with that.

They did not explain what this pearl was for, though. I started walking forward, and it seemed like I was compelled to do it.

I saw a giant tree, larger than the rest. A red dragon walked around it, and golden wool lay on one branch. A boy leaned against the tree, and he seemed to be waiting for someone. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew that he had shaggy, jet black hair. He wore an orange shirt with a blue jacket over it, and he wore blue jean shorts.

"Hi," I said, putting a calm façade. I was really disgusted by being this close proximity to a male, that hadn't changed. If I had to be close to one male, though, that would be Percy Jackson. I wouldn't admit this to anyone—other than Aphrodite and Athena, we're all good friends—but I had a small crush on him.

He turned around, a forced smile on his face. He had bright sea green eyes, and his smile definitely did not meet them.

"Hey," he greeted, and I instantly knew this was him. It was like something clicked in my mind, or my heart, and I automatically knew. "Are you a new camper?"

I definitely wasn't one of those _boring_ , _snobbish_ campers. Why would he think that? I _almost_ snorted. But it would be likely of that thought coming to mind when I—or anyone, for that matter—just walked into the camp.

"No," I said, and I left it at that. I didn't say anything else about that.

 _Ask him to claim your services,_ a voice said in my head. It wasn't Diana, I knew that much. I'd like to say we were in the same body, as we were for approximately three thousand years; but we weren't. For all I knew, she could be leading the Hunt right now. And why would she even tell me to do that? She hated men even more than I did.

"Can you say this for me please: 'I claim your services?'" I did not say that on my own accord. I wanted a maiden to claim my services, not a male. I respect the boy, but that does not mean that I want _him_ to claim my services.

"Uh, okay," he said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable, too. Who knew what he would do to me? He could do anything he wanted and I would have to obey. I had a reputation to keep, but I couldn't possibly keep if I had a _male_ as the claimer.

And then he said the words. "I… claim your services." He sounded slightly unsure, and it was a first for a male. No man could resist me, that was why I killed so many, had them killed by other animals, or had them hunted by my handmaidens.

A golden glow surrounded his hands, and there was a moon imprint on it. That didn't happen for Apollo! What is going on? Someone had to be setting me up for this.

A person came running down the hill toward us. The person was female. She had short, curly blond hair, stormy gray eyes that glinted slightly in the sunlight, and a radiant smile. She wore an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, a beaded necklace with eleven beads on it, and khaki pants. She carried a cell phone in her hand, which I thought was stupid, considering she was a demigod. This was Annabeth Chase.

The moon imprint on Percy's hand disappeared. I was thankful for that; I didn't want my symbol on anyone's hand—especially a man. Only people important to me.

"Ready, Percy?" she inquired, pocketing the electrical object. Her eyes flicked toward me. She looked into my eyes, and she immediately bowed. I felt oddly pleased, even in this mortal body, that she had bowed to me. I looked at the son of Poseidon, and he looked slightly confused.

I looked into his eyes, and recognition shown in his as he looked into mine. He didn't bow like I thought he would, and if anything, he was pretty indifferent about my presence.

"Lady Artemis," Annabeth greeted, standing back up straight. She picked up a backpack that was beside the tree, and she hefted it upon her shoulders. "What are you doing at camp, without the Hunt?"

I looked up at the sky, and I heaved a short, sad sigh. "My father," I began, closing my eyes. I still had my hand wrapped around the pearl. I opened my hand and held the pearl toward the sky. Cracks spread throughout it, and light seeped through it. "He turned me mortal, just for a framed murder. A few gods and goddesses disappeared, and it seemed to be perfectly timed for what had occurred. The other Olympians probably do not know, because when I had found out, I had fled; he found me recently, and it was an indefinite time that I ran. I truly do not know how long it was."

By the end of it I was in tears. Most of the time I did not cry, but now I really didn't care. I held in so much stress, so much pain, so much sadness, and I never let it out. I just wanted to release, I wanted this to be over already. I was with my Hunt when it happened, and Zeus had auto-assumed it was me. There was _no_ evidence at all.

I didn't notice until eight minutes later that Annabeth was hugging me, saying comforting words. That hadn't happened much before, and it felt nice to know that I had someone with me.

I wiped my tears away and Annabeth pulled back from the embrace. She gave me a sad smile. The son of Poseidon had a comforting hand on my shoulder. I didn't hate it; but at the same time, I didn't love it. I had to keep my distance, but I couldn't with this _stupid_ claiming.

I held nothing in my hand, so the pearl must have slipped out of my hand when I broke down. It most likely rolled down the hill, toward where I had come from. With the amount of cracks that it had gotten, it would break if it fell off something at least five feet of the ground.

I broke away from the two and ran down the hill. Wherever it had went, I would find it. I just hoped it wouldn't crack to the point that there was no pearl. I was barely aware of my surroundings or the other two running after me.

I saw a silver light at the bottom of the hill. It glowed slightly, and there was a silver bow, imprinted with the words _Love of the Sea_. I had gotten the bow a long time ago, but I don't remember how…

I sprinted toward the pearl, and it was cracking even further. One piece was pretty much broken, with little space before it broke off. I picked it up, but my new body's clumsiness—it wasn't me, at least not necessarily—made me drop it.

The pearl fell, and the pieces flew everywhere. Each of them flew up into the air and they flew in a circle. They flew up even further, and they completely vanished.

"Oh, my gods," Annabeth said, and I looked at her. She looked shocked beyond belief, and she seemed a bit frozen. Her hand went toward her sheath on the side of her pants.

"What is it, Annabeth?" Percy asked. He reached inside of his pocket, and, if I remember correctly, he was getting a ballpoint pen. It would turn into his sword that my former lieutenant once gave to the god Heracles.

"P—" She gulped, and she fully unsheathed her sword. She held it in a defensive position, so that meant she was expecting a battle. By the way her eyes were dark, she was extremely nervous and apprehensive. They were the exact same as Athena's.

"Percy, I'm scared." It took a lot to have a child of Athena—or even Athena herself—to admit that. I looked down the hill in trepidation.

"Artemis," the son of Poseidon said, and I looked toward him. He had a shield on his left arm, and it was emblazoned with a blue trident on the bronze metal. "If you see a horde of monsters, blow the horn on Thalia's tree."

I didn't like taking orders from anyone. I didn't like it from my father, brother, uncles, anyone. But for my uncles and father, I had to listen.

I glared at him. "I do not take orders from you, boy." To my dissatisfaction, he didn't flinch.

"Apparently you do," said Wisdom's daughter. My body was moving toward my lieutenant's tree. My bow was still with me, but it was on my back. I tried to take control of myself. _Tried_. My own body would not listen to me.

I stood by Thalia's tree, gazing through the forest, and I held the horn in my hand. The trees rustled in the wind, and I could imagine Zeus laughing at me. He knew I didn't take orders well, and then he makes me have to take orders.

I saw a girl run through the trees, coming toward us. She had sea green eyes that were filled with terror, long jet black hair that was unruly, a grimace on her face. I felt a connection toward her, but I knew that it wasn't through maidenhood or by my Hunt.

Behind her, a tree flew up in the air. I'd seen this happen multiple times; this was the Minotaur. But only that wouldn't make a child of Athena scared. This was something worse with it.

The man-bull came into the area we were in. I looked at Percy, who shook his head. The Minotaur slowed down, and the shadows gathered around him. They made human-like figures. They were undefinable as a gender.

Two shadow stuck out from the others. They were walking while the others were stationary. I noticed that their gender could be deciphered. One of them was a woman, and the other was a man. Both had black hair.

The woman wore dark clothes, as did the man, but her shirt said _Night._ She had eyes that swirled with darkness. She had black wings going through her shirt, and they went from her shoulders to her waist. The wingspan was about five to seven meters. Her skin was very pale.

The man's shirt didn't say anything. His eyes were a dark purple, and they shined with a hidden power. Well, not hidden from the way they had come here. He was also pale, and he seemed dangerously calm.

I slowly lifted the horn to my mouth. I tried to make it as subtle as possible.

The woman looked at me. She smiled at me, but it wasn't friendly. "I wouldn't blow that horn if I were you; you be dead in an instant."

"Demigods," the man said, nodding at the daughter of Athena and the son of Poseidon. "Former god." He nodded at me. "It was nice for you to summon us, Annabeth Chase."

"Who are you?" Percy asked, his sword up in a defensive position. He stood his ground, and he was in front of Annabeth.

The woman laughed. It was humorous, and it was an evil-sounding one. It sounded almost the same as the Earth Mother's. "Do you not recognize me?" she asked. She placed a hand over her chest as if she was hurt.

"I wasn't on the brochure, you were searching for Day." Recognition flickered on Annabeth's and Percy's faces, but I was still puzzled. What brochure was she talking? And what did she mean by "day?" Did she mean the primeval goddess, Hemera?

I didn't get to come to a conclusion when I heard the girl gasp from behind Annabeth. She was staring up at the sky, where a beautiful woman stood. She had dark brown eyes that were extremely soft, short brown hair, and a warm smile. I felt calm around her, just like I did Hestia. This had to be Elpis.

I didn't understand that, though. She was trapped in Pandora's pithos, where she couldn't get out unless someone opened it. She was all that was left in the jar when Pandora had opened it. It was an impossibility in itself.

The woman glared down at the other woman. "Low blow, Nyx." So that was who it was, never would've guessed that. I guess the man was Erebus, then. He was the personification of the darkness from what I could remember.

Nyx glowered at the woman. "You're not one to speak, Ananke." A sword appeared in the goddess' hand, and the same happened for Ananke. I had a feeling that this wouldn't end well. Someone _would_ die, no doubt about it.

Erebus just stood to the side, watching the interactions between his wife and his niece. He seemed like he didn't see a problem in us, and we were not a threat. I felt rage surge through my heart, but I pushed it down—it wasn't a time to act irrationally.

"Erebus," Nyx growled, glaring at him. He flinched slightly. She motioned toward us, and he waved it off. "Kill them. _Now_."

"Nyxie, they are of no problem. There are two of us, and they are but demigods." He slowly walked toward her, only to get slapped. I guess she _really_ wanted us to be dead. I didn't want to die, and I was scared of death.

Us immortals are all scared of it, though we don't show it much. Death doesn't really come when we go to Tartarus, but when we stop getting worship, and people stop praying to us. When we fade is our death.

I wasn't ready to face it, though. Mortals don't fear it as much as we do. They embrace it, and they know if would come at some point. They still persevere, and the demigods try to get their parents to recognize them before they die at the hands of monsters, or by the hands of the Titans; or even gods that they enrage.

The shades started marching toward us, and weapons starting taking form in their hands. I looked toward the other demigods, and I saw that the girl had ran inside of the camp. Hopefully to get help; as much as I hated calling for help, I—excuse me, _we_ —needed help gravely.

I had no doubt that this would be bad. Two beings fighting, and another sending his minions to fight us.

"Watch out for the _arai_ ," Annabeth said, giving us a helpful tip. I mean, it would have been helpful if I would have been able to tell which things was which. They were all disguised as shades, so they could be anything. I didn't even see how she could tell there were any of the _arai._

"The _arai_ are at the back two lines," Percy pointed out, readying himself. I imagined an arrow on the string of my bow, and it… didn't appear. Appears my magic for that ran out.

"And I have a surprise for you, Artemis, and I will show you it once I have defeated this… thing." Nyx pointed at Ananke, who was oh-so-patiently waiting. "Or maybe I can make it appear now."

"Demigods, meet the—what is it called again?—the Sihlina." That name sent chills down my back. This was a monster that I had fought during the First Gigantomachy. It had the head of lion, the tail of the Chimera, the grace of a panther, and the body of a cheetah. It spat poison like the Chimera did, as well, but it was more deadly. It was kind of like the Nemean Lion, because it had skin that was unpuncturable.

Worst part of it? I didn't exactly know how to kill it. The previous time I didn't even know if I had killed it or not, because it had just disappeared. Hopefully we could kill it, but my luck as of late was horrible, and I didn't think we could do it.

"No!" Ananke yelled, glaring daggers at Nyx. She shot a blue-green ball of light at the monster, but it was sent back toward her. She swiftly dodged it, and she and Nyx started preparing for their fight.

Maybe, just maybe, I could get the magic to work. I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed the shades fighting the other two. They worked in synchronization, slashing through the shadows. The Sihlina stayed back behind the army, which wasn't replenishing as I thought they would.

"Artemis, blow the horn! It'll signify the campers of the battle," Annabeth yelled, and I grabbed the horn and blew. It was loud, and it dazed me slightly. A shade came up from behind me, and I swiftly ducked. I prayed that they would be able to die without Celestial bronze or Imperial gold.

I grabbed its legs, which I could oddly grab. I flipped him over me, and I punched it in the face. As long as I could knock them out, they could be killed later on. I grabbed it and rammed it into a tree. Anyone else would have had been knocked out, but thing seemed to take more hits for that to happen. I rammed the shade's head into the tree five more times, and it was definitely unconscious. Somehow nothing had came after me.

The shadows had all gathered around Percy and Annabeth, and there was no sign of help coming. I didn't hear any feet clattering against the ground, and no sound period. Nyx and Ananke had disappeared, thankfully. But Erebus was here, and he wasn't paying attention. The Sihlina was nowhere in sight.

I found two silver hunting knives on the ground in front of me, with _A and A_ on them both. I thanked Aphrodite and Athena quietly, and then I picked them up. I was back in business. I felt a tingle on my back, and then it just went into my entire being.

I waved it off and went to help the other two. I slashed two shadows in half, and they vanished. That meant the _arai_ were closer to the center. I heard an agony-filled scream which confirmed that thought.

I was roughly knocked down to the ground, and a foot was placed on my back. I was a little disoriented, since the impact wasn't to hard, but it still hurt. I saw shades disappearing, and it was like that till nothing else stood. The foot wasn't on my body anymore, so I pushed myself off the ground.

Nothing was there, I noticed. There was not a single person here other than Percy and Annabeth. The two were not in good shape, with their breathing shallow and cuts all on their skin. Blood poured out of the wounds, and it trickled down their bodies and clothes.

It seemed like they hadn't even noticed the small ones, only the major ones. The daughter of Athena fell on the ground, and her boyfriend—that had a very, very bitter taste in my mouth—promptly caught her.

He carried her into the camp, and I followed. This place was somewhat familiar, for the times I had left my Huntresses here. I kind of hoped they would be here, and they would just suddenly pop up here. But what Annabeth had said earlier sent that down the line: " _Lady Artemis. What are you doing here at camp, without the Hunt?_ "

That made it clear that they weren't here. They were somewhere around the United States, but they _definitely_ aren't in Hades' realm. The Hunters could definitely take care of themselves for sometime, but even they had a limit. Everyone did, though some don't acknowledge it. Most gods and goddesses didn't, no matter the pantheon.

I'd met Neith once, and she was probably one of the most level-headed goddesses I had met. Of course she had times when she was arrogant, especially when she had played a game against Sadie Kane and Walt Stone(I knew about that, since I actually watched other "mythological worlds"); but she was overall a nice person to be with. She, at least, knew when couldn't do something, but she would still try anyways.

We ended up in a deep part of the Infirmary, with Annabeth laying on the bed. Percy sat on the other side of the bed, looking slightly downcast. He held her hand tightly; I could tell he was praying to every god that she would survive. (Talking from now time, I am seriously glad that someone did come up on that.)

This was one of the more private rooms, and the only other people that came in were Annabeth's close friends, her family, and a few doctors. Mainly Will Solace and Kayla Knowles. It was weird how Apollo conceived children with mothers that had last names that were centered around the sun… well, mostly.

Will and Kayla came in together, which was a first since they took shifts of keeping check of her vitals and things. Basically to keep her at regular health. They both had somber expressions on their faces, which told me that something horrible would happen.

"What's the synopsis?" Percy was serious, and he looked very downcast. It shown in his eyes, just by the emotion shown in it. His eyes had darkened, too; they were a dark shade of the sea, like it was a stormy night.

"We did the best we can," Kayla said, and I fully had expected that. I felt pain surge through my heart, and it wasn't just about the lost of another maiden. It was something deeper, stronger. I couldn't place it.

I knew how this had felt for Percy, since I had lost my best friend, too. Zoë was one of my best Huntresses, and I knew she wanted people to continue on with her legacy. It hurt the worst for the death of her; and when Percy had suggested that I save her, I had died inside when I had said that I couldn't. It hurt worst than anything to have to watch my Huntresses die. It made it worse than that since they were in a relationship.

"We're sorry, but Annabeth didn't make it. She was supposed to survive, but some other being influenced her going to Hades' realm. There isn't much we can do." Kayla had tears flowing out of her eyes, and so did Will. Annabeth, when she wasn't working, must have been a great friend.

"No," Percy whispered, letting his tears fall freely. He grasped Annabeth's hand firmly, and it seemed he refused to believe the truth. I didn't believe either; why would somebody influence her death at the beginning of a new war, if we probably needed her?

And then the weird happened.

 **New story. I just can't stay on one story. It's weird like that. I try to focus on one story, but then I come up with another idea. I will try to stay on the this story. I will definitely try to complete this.**

 **But I hope you like it. I will definitely try to make it not be so rushed later on.**

 **Paix!**

— **MS.R**


	2. Setting Up

**Chapter II: Huh?**

"No," Percy whispered, and Kayla had pulled him into a hug. He embraced her with one arm. I was stock-still, like a deer caught in headlights. I understood that deaths come around a lot, but she died, like, right now. The impossibility of that happening.

I heard her voice somehow. "Am I… dead?" She sounded confused, and she seemed really close by me. It seemed like everyone else heard her, because they seemed as startled as I was. I looked toward her, and she was—um, how do I say this? Oh, yeah—sitting up. Literally sitting up. I mean, she was looking at her hands, her eyes wide. She seemed surprised, and I was too. She wasn't pale, or as pale as I thought she should be.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried, and he hugged her tightly. Kayla joined the hug, and Will stood at the side awkwardly. I was the same but sitting.

"What happened, Annabeth?" Kayla asked, tears of happiness falling out of her eyes now. She pulled away from the embrace. "You—you were d-d-dead."

Annabeth's eyes were completely, utterly white. You couldn't see her pupil, just the sclera. Her eye color came back, but she looked extremely unfocused, which usually didn't happen for a child of Athena.

"Andromeda. Angela. Anastasia," Annabeth listed suddenly, looking up at the ceiling. I felt something burning my pocket. I reached in and pulled out a piece of paper.

Read this aloud.

"I advise that one of you, Artemis, Annabeth Chase, and Percy Jackson, go consult the Oracle of Delphi. Something, or someone, will have to do it, or the world shall fall as we know it. When you complete the quest, you will find a piece of paper. On it will be code, and if you solve it, you will know who has been helping you.

Good luck, and I will aid you as much as I can.

PS. The names that Annabeth said are extremely important, so make sure to remember them."

I finished the note, and I looked from face to face. Annabeth and Percy looked incredulous. Five quests, two Great Prophecies, a journey through Tartarus (I don't suggest going there; it is a terrible place), and fighting many gods and Titans who wanted to take down Olympus has that effect on people.

Before I could say anything, a conch horn blew. From what I knew, that signified a meal. Or an attack. I hoped that it would be the first. I wasn't looking forward to another fight already. The last one was tiring enough. We all stood up and started to walk toward the dining pavilion.

"I'll consult my brother's Oracle if you don't," I proposed, breaking the others out of their thoughts.

"I'll do it, I think you need to converse with Chiron," Percy said, and he looked up ahead. He jogged off toward the Big House. The rest of us made it to the dining pavilion and they went to their tables. I went and sat at my table.

I usually didn't have to eat when I was a goddess, which I did anyways; but in my body right now, it was a necessity.

A nymph came around and she seemed surprised that I was here. No time during the reign of the Olympians had only person sat at this table. She sat the food down, which was steak, french fries, and an apple. She hurriedly left and went to give others their food.

I looked up, and I saw that everyone else was staring at me, their eyes wide. It wasn't everyday that someone sat at Table Eight. Only when I had went on those solo hunts.

Chiron trotted over to me in his full height. "Who are you?" I looked him in the eye, and he looked shocked. Once it had wore off, he bowed slightly to me. "Lady Artemis, what are you doing here?"

"Zeus turned me mortal," I said, and I cut off a piece of the steak. I looked toward the sunset, and I saw that someone was running up the hill. Percy, I recognized, and I stood up. He was motioning someone over, and I guessed it would be Annabeth and I.

I looked at the trainer of heroes apologetically and went over to the Athena table. I got Annabeth and we jogged to him.

"What was the prophecy?" I asked him, and he looked toward the ocean. He looked frustrated.

"Four shall go east to a goddess' temple,

A great threat you may mistakenly assemble,

While searching through the moonstone,

And one shall be lost in the Pit's maze of bones,

To find the Dagger of the Dark."

"Have you chose anyone to be the fourth person?" Annabeth asked, and I swear I saw her hand twitching. It didn't seem natural. Demigods didn't usually suffer from deadly diseases; most didn't even develop diseases. I had only known of a demigod having a headache at best. Not in four thousand years had I seen a demigod have a muscle twitch, either.

Maybe it was a side effect for her death? But why would death cause a twitch? Hazel Lavesque hadn't been reported to have a twitch of her muscles and she had died already.

I looked toward the forest, where I saw the outline of a person. I wasn't able to tell the gender, so I guessed it was this person trying to help me—us—with this quest, and war if it comes to that.

I asked for a bit of the stuff from the Camp store, and they had given me more than I asked for. Probably because I was known for my bad tempers when I don't get what I want, or because I was an extremely powerful goddess and when I turned back I could kill them easily.

Anyways, Cabin Eight would be stocked up the next time my hunters needed anything.

I cleaned myself up, preparing myself. It was about 2, so I probably either had a couple hours to myself, or I needed to go help Percy and Annabeth.

I put on one of the silver parkas that were stuffed in the closet. It was close to the end of November, as I was informed from Chiron. We had talked for awhile, before he said he had to attend to some things.

I made my way to the Poseidon cabin, the fur on the parka tickling my neck. I had to admit, it was pretty cold, even for this late in November. It wasn't even winter.

And wasn't Camp Half-Blood supposed to be protected from winter? It was never like this, even on the Winter solstice.

But as I knocked on the door, a pair of blue eyes looked out of the woods, staring at me. A long-nailed finger pointed at me, then starting gesturing for me to go.

I blinked, and the image disappeared. "Well that's odd."

"What's odd?" Annabeth asked, the door suddenly creaking opening.

I jumped, my heart starting to beat rapidly. I turned around quickly, my fists up in front of me. I put them down as I saw that it was her.

"Don't startle me like that!" I told her, an angry expression showing on my face. I have never been a fan of being snuck upon, or someone suddenly doing something behind me.

She laughed. "Okay, whatever." She led me into the cabin, where Percy sat at a table, his hands on his head. Oh, and that girl that came from earlier was sleeping on a bed across the room, having been claimed already.

I slowly sat, not wanting to wake the girl. "What have you two thought of so far?"

"On that note you got from… whoever, it says that the names I uttered were important. They have to have some kind of correlation. The names are Andromeda, Angela, and Anastasia. What could tie them together?" Annabeth was probably onto something, though I couldn't figure out what she was getting at.

I still found one thing. "How about they all start with an A?" Not the best idea, I know. But with this little information, I don't think even Athena would be able to figure out what the end result was.

"Any other suggestions?" Well, that was rude. She just brushed my comment off, not even taking it into account. Although, logically thinking, that was kind of rhetorical.

We hadn't gotten a thing done, and after I barely received a lick of sleep. It was nearly midnight, and I was weighing the pros and cons of sneaking out of the cabin.

Even though I had more against me than not, I still did it. I grabbed the bow I had found when I first arrived at camp, before I snuck out toward the shooting range.

It was vacant, except for one person. It looked like a girl was shooting a blue bow, consistently getting the arrows to split one another. I hope my shot stays the way it was before.

I pulled up the bow, notching an arrow quickly. I drew back the string.

"If you're going to shoot that quickly, you should get a bow that fits you size," the girl told me, her bow growing taut. That was correct, I suppose, but I am used to this bow.

"What is your name?" I asked, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. She still didn't look at me, so I couldn't get a good look at her.

"Mia," she replied, finally turning toward me. She had blond hair that reached to her shoulders, and there was streaks of green in it. Blue eyes poked out from the black hoodie she wore, staring me down. "You are?"

"Kylie," I lied. Hopefully she wouldn't know that. I hadn't really told anyone about my being here.

She chuckled. "I was just kidding," she said, sweeping hair out of her eyes. "I know you're the goddess Artemis… or used to be goddess."

"I haven't told anyone but three people, how'd you know that?" Could she read minds like a god could? I had been thinking that just before she said anything.

"My father, Apollo, informed me of the occurrence. He said that you were turned into a mortal by Zeus, because you had done something he didn't like. My dad sent me to try and help you," she answered, her bow disappearing as a sun charm appeared on the grass.

Apollo had stepped up his game, apparently. He barely gifted his children, not even the most powerful of them. Mia must really have some potential.

"Why didn't you ever try to join the Hunt?" I interrogated, taking the arrow off the string. "You have much potential with a bow."

"I did… a couple hundred years ago." I looked at her in shock. She was alive for more than a hundred years and still looked like a teenager?

"Do you possess any type of immortality?"

She shook her head quickly, a grimace on her face. "I came through Thanatos' Doors." She was wounded from the experience more than she let on. I had spent centuries studying body language. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, and she was in a very tense posture.

She must have came out and Thanatos didn't come to reap her soul again. He had to have a reason for that. And now that Nyx was out to kill, he may very well come and do it.

She looked me in the eyes, and I could her eyes starting to water. She blinked a couple times, pulling her hoodie down to cover the blue orbs.

I was silent. She was beyond comfort from me; I have never been where she has. I was barely even in Tartarus for a day, and she was in the underworld for over a century.

"Where did you go?" It was a bad question to ask her, that much was obvious. I just couldn't help it. Curse my naturally curious self.

She whispered quietly in a voice so distant that it seemed like a different person, "The Fields of Punishment." Her hand moved to her pocket, her sleeve pushing up a bit. I could just about see two dark marks on her pale skin.

It was instantly covered by her sleeve, so I couldn't get a clear sight of it.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly, the words feeling unusual on my tongue. I'd really never apologized to anyone, since I usually just killed them and then be done with it.

"It's fine." She grabbed the sun charm off the ground, which had scorched the tips of the grass. It had sat there so long I had forgotten about it. I hated the sluggish mind of the mortals already.

"Well, I should be off. I'll leave you to what you had came here to do." Mia waved at me, which I did as well, before she ran off. I could see a harpy swooping down to get her, but she was too fast for the passive/aggressive monster.

I figured I should go to sleep too. It was a big day tomorrow, and the next day as well. Chiron had announced at dinner that tomorrow would be the Three-legged Death Race designed by Harley, a son of Hephaestus.

I slung my bow onto my back, sluggishly walking toward the cabins. It was like I was walking through mud without picking up my feet.

The trees rustled behind, making lots of noise. I tried to starting faster, but now, I couldn't move. I was slightly scared of what could happen… well, not slightly. A lot. Something could be coming out to try and kill me right now, at the dead of night. And that would definitely be my fault because I had came out past the curfew of the camp.

"Artemis," a ghostly, eerie voice said, "come to me." I had heard this voice somewhat recently, I could tell. Maybe it was one of the gods? No, that couldn't be. I was on the run for some time, and I had only encountered one of them. Which was Zeus.

It wasn't anyone that I had encountered today, since I barely talked to any people at the camp. I had only spoke to Mia, Chiron, Percy, Kayla, Will, and Annabeth. No one else. Was there anyone else that I couldn't remember that I talked to?

How could it have been recently then? Unless I had forgotten about it, then there was no way possible.

"Not or later," she said, "I don't care. Just make sure to visit me." I couldn't see anyone, but I could feel them touching, their hand roughly squeezing my shoulder.

"No, she means later." A manly ghost slowly came into sight, the one clutching my shoulder. Was this one of the souls that may have escaped from the Underworld? It seemed very like that, minus the being able to touch me.

I shook away from Ghost Man's grip, moving away quickly. I didn't care if they were friendly or not, I just wanted to sleep.

"C'mon, Artemis! Bring your friends to us, and you will receive a gift from us. You don't, and you be cursed to be forever mortal!" the lady ghost threatened, before I felt both fade away from the camp.

I quickly ran to my cabin, avoiding harpies left and right. I pushed open the door, moonlight passing through the entrance. I was glad I had enchanted this cabin, allowing it to use moonlight instead of the electric lightbulb all the time.

I raced over to my room, practically jumping on my bed. I was out like a light.

I didn't dream, nor did I have a nightmare. I was thankful for that.

I was awoken by the sounding of stomping. I slowly opened my eyes, instinctively reaching for the lamp.

My eyes adjusted to it quickly, as soon as someone had opened the door. It was Annabeth.

"Let's go, Artemis. We have a lead as to what to do," she said quickly. "But get ready first, we'll meet you thirty minutes after breakfast."

I wanted to say something, but I was too lazy so I resorted to nodding. She speed walked out, leaving me to myself. I gave myself a pat on the back (metaphorically), remembering that I had magically expanded the cabin to have its own bathroom and shower.

I prepared myself, putting on a camp shirt that, for some reason, was in the closet of the cabin, a light blue jacket, based on what Annabeth was wearing, and a pair of blue jeans. All the clothes were magically enhanced to fit the wearer automatically.

As soon as I stepped foot outside of my cabin, the horn sounded off. I knew the way to the dining pavilion, so I went to it. It wasn't too far, so I got there relatively quickly.

Annabeth and Percy were already sitting at their tables, and the girl I saw at the Poseidon table too. I haven't figured out her name yet.

I sat, with a naiad immediately coming to the table. I scraped a portion of my food to my father, hoping he would feel a bit of leniency and give some information as to where my hunters were and/or their condition.

I ate the rest quickly, discreetly following the daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon. It was obvious they knew I was behind them, but I walked into my silver cabin.

For the thirty minutes I had before we met I wanted to play basketball, but I knew that I would punish the other team (not to brag, but I have never lost a basketball match).

I ultimately stayed in Cabin Eight, doing whatever. Thinking it was about the time to meet, I started to walk over to the Poseidon cabin. I didn't think the Athenians would take well to me, a complete stranger, just coming to their cabin. I wouldn't either!

I knocked, and the door immediately opened. The girl (I really need to find out her name) was in here, as well as my two questmates. Gods, thinking that sounds awkward.

I stepped in, going to sit on one of the unoccupied beds. "Artemis—Abigail. Abigail— over to sit on one of the unoccupied beds.

"Artemis, this is Abigail, my sister. Abigail, this is Artemis," Percy introduced us. Finally, I could stop addressing her as the girl.

"Hi," she said, waving her awkwardly.

"Hey," I replied, equally as awkwardly. Just not waving. Waving was below me right now.

Did I ever tell you I was near Percy's height? At least my father let me be tall. I'm guessing that I am a whopping six feet.

"But what is this lead that you have found?" I asked, starting up the main topic. "You said you found something."

"Yes, we do. Abby says that she had a dream slash nightmare that occurred when we had talked yesterday," Annabeth informed me. I nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I swear this is true." Abigail shifted her position on her bed nervously. "There were Greek letters welcoming you into this place. There was a swirling darkness pulling your group, but it only got her." She looked at me sorrowfully.

"And, like, there was different spikes of ice appearing and disappearing around the place, some randomly falling down to the ground. The girl with the blue eyes, the one I don't recognize, had gotten crushed by one but survived."

She took in a deep breath, pausing her talking. "The place was made out of some whitish marble. One of you, I can't remember who, called it… moonstone, I think."

Nowhere else other than Greece could have this goddess' temple. No other place would have Greek writing to show the name for it other there.

And there was something else with Mia. I could tell that the girl was her, it was my gut instinct. How could she directly or indirectly survive getting pierced by a giant ice spike that fell onto her.

"Can you give me a description of what the girl looks like?" I asked, trying to make sure I was correct before I told them anything.

"She has blond hair that reached to her shoulders, and there was streaks of green in it. Um, her blue eyes showed pain in them when one of you had said something about the Underworld. She wore blue jeans with a black hoodie covering her shirt," she described, confirming my thoughts.

"I know who the fourth person we need to bring is," I announced, feeling proud of myself. I had actually done something good with this mortal brain of mine. My hate for it was there no matter what, though. "Be right back."

I walked out quickly, speeding over to the Apollo cabin. I knocked loudly. "What do you want?" one of the kids said rudely, tapping his foot quickly. "I have other things to do."

I did my best to not get angry, which was very hard. Boys. "Can I speak with Mia?" I tried for a sweet tone, which I think I ultimately failed at for my standard.

He slammed the door in my face, huffing as he did so. "Mia!" I heard, before I started to lean on the wood wall.

"What do you need?" Mia said as she opened the door, glancing at me quickly. "I was in the middle of something important."

"I have some friends that would like to talk to you," I told her, not thinking friends was the right word for it. Acquaintances seemed more like the right I knew that she already knew who I was talking about. All I talked to for the short day that I was here Percy, Annabeth, and her.

"You mean Percabeth, right?" she asked, gaining a confused look from me. Who in the world was named "Percabeth?" Worst name in the world. She threw her hands up in the air. "Why bother?"

"Wait, do you mean Percy and Annabeth?" She nodded, looking like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, yeah, I mean them."

"And why would they need to talk to me, out of all people?" she asked, looking toward the forest. "I'm just a daughter of Apollo; what use could I be?"

"They. or we, have a quest to partake to stop an evil goddess. I suggested that you come with us." She looked at me stupidly, as if I was joking.

"Are you serious, 'cause this is a big offer?" she asked me, staring me down. I almost shrunk down under her gaze, and I would have if I wasn't so prideful.

I nodded quickly.

"What are we waiting for then?" she demanded excited, rushing me with her to the Cabin Three. I stepped into my uncle's cabin, ushering her inside with me.

 **Here's another for you dudes and dudettes. I tried to get it out for Christmas, but of course family had me occupied with laughs.**

 **But I will try to get the next chapter out, cause I am traveling.**

 **Till next time**

 **~MS.R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III:**

Grabbing my bag of necessities, I made my way to the dock. We would get to Greece by boat, which Mia had told us was enchanted to be sped up for the journey.

I was slightly fearful of what could happen. What if Poseidon did something to me during the trip? And if he did something to me, what would become of Annabeth?

I've been in rivers before, which wasn't typically in his domain, but never the ocean. Or the sea. But Zeus would protect me, wouldn't he? He was my father.

I was having some doubts, though. He hadn't tried to reason with me about what happened, he just shot a small bolt of lightning at me with his Master Bolt. That wasn't a good father if you asked me.

"Come on, Artemis. There is nothing to be afraid of… well, kind of," Mia said, rubbing her chin. "With Percy in the boat, Poseidon _probably_ won't try to kill us. He won't kill his most powerful demigod son just for a daughter of Zeus or Athena."

That was true. However, Poseidon could find a way around killing Percy along with us. He was one of the most powerful gods when in his domain.

Hopefully we wouldn't be there long, or we don't hit a storm. _Please, Uncle,_ I pleaded, _protect me._

Annabeth was not here. She had went off to inform Chiron of what we are going to do. I leaned against one of the wooden poles that were holding up the dock.

Mia was here just a minute ago, but she had somehow disappeared. She must have left when I was praying to Poseidon.

"Where's the other girl?" Annabeth asked, her shoes banging against the wood of the dock as she came. She wiped her hands on her pants. "Chiron said he would inform our parents of our whereabouts. But we need to get going now if we are going to stop this goddess."

"I need to do one thing first," Mia said, suddenly reappearing. I jumped slightly, turning around quickly. "We need to go to the North."

I froze. Why would she, a daughter of Apollo, want to go somewhere that was cold? That wasn't normal. Unless it was winter, or close. Gods, I am stupid. Apollo has too much of an effect on me.

"Why? We need to get on with this quest, and I want to be with my mom on Christmas," Percy said. I had forgotten about that. I never really ever celebrated that holiday, since my mother was always traveling and Apollo was most likely off somewhere.

And I definitely wasn't going to be able to celebrate it this year, either. My mortal days are going to be fun.

"You will, Jackson. It won't be more than two days that I need to be there. Perhaps you will be allowed to stay there for that time." She pushed me, not uttering a sorry.

She pointed down into Zephyrus Creek, and I could faintly see light blue. "That is how I know I need to go there. As I was in the Underworld, Lady Persephone had came to me, telling me to look for something like that. She said that it would help me to remember my past."

"She may have been the one that wiped my memories, but I think it was when I walked through Tartarus. She may be helping us all."

Maybe Persephone was the one helping me. But she hadn't harmed my family, since Demeter had given birth to the goddess after I became an Olympian. We were on good terms anyhow. So that was one goddess off the list.

"We should use the pegasi to get there," she suggested, "because the boat wouldn't make it to the palace of Boreas."

Oh, no. I definitely did not want to go there. Khione and Boreas had helped Zeus catch me, which is _how_ I got caught. Stupid goddesses not keeping promises.

I remember like it was yesterday, every single detail. I guess that was the way Zeus liked to pick fun at people.

"Well, I know, by experience, losing your memory is not fun. So we should try to get them ASAP, along with working on finding out which temple is made of moonstone."

Annabeth looked at Percy and Mia like they were crazy. "Percy, remember what Piper, Jason, and Leo said about that place? About how they liked to freeze the demigods that go there, unless they were children of gods that dealt with fire? We should _not_ be going there.

/\

The ride was great, with all the views and stuff. The main place that I saw that I have _never_ visited is Niagra Falls. I have wanted to visit that place for awhile, but I don't have the time. I had to hunt the more powerful monsters, or the ones that thrive in groups, to try and protect demigods from harm.

I had started feeling super cold as soon as we reached about 20 miles away from Quebec. I had been cold already because of how high in the air we were, but this place was super cold. I wouldn't be surprised if the temperature was below freezing.

But we landed, with Zethes and Calais not meeting us as we stopped. I was still wary of being here. Khione and Boreas had ratted me out once, who says they won't do again?

Annabeth dismounted, which I followed suit. Percy and Mia had arrived a few minutes before us and had probably already gone inside. We walked down the staircase that we knew the two went down.

Mia and Percy stood there in the room, shivering. I am pretty sure I was too, and that my teeth were chattering loudly. Everything was covered in thin sheets of ice and snow. And this place seemed like it was colder than the height we were at.

"Phoebe Artemis, welcome to my palace again. I hope you enjoyed your short, short stay last time. I definitely did." I looked up the stairs. Khione was wearing a flowing white dress that reached to her ankles. She had a necklace made of divine silver, much like the ones I enchant for my Huntresses. It was made into a small snowflake. She wore a pair of white high heels, and the sound they made as she stepped down the stairs was annoying. She had cut her hair down to her shoulders, rather than it reaching a couple inches down her torso.

I gritted my teeth, which were still chattering. "Khione," I growled, almost being overwhelmed by the hate I felt toward her. It came so suddenly, I could barely handle it.

She smiled coldly, her right hand slowly balling up into a fist. "Still mad about that, are you?" Finally, she stopped moving. It felt like she would never stop moving, with her shoes making the _clack, clack, clack_ sound. "I never intended for this to happen… at first. Zeus didn't offer much, only a temple where I would be worshipped. I declined, telling him that it would be of no use of everyone was afraid of me."

"So you didn't _initially_ want him to catch me? He made a higher offer, I assume." I crossed my arms, and surprisingly my teeth weren't chattering anymore. But I was still shivering, and I could still see my breath when I blew out air.

"Yes, he did. He gave me one of the greatest gifts he could offer, which was becoming an Olympian. I had accepted, being the idiot I am. I will never," she said somberly, shaking her head. She tried to hide her emotions, but I could tell she was very sad.

"What did he do?" Mia asked quietly, making sure we all could hear her.

Khione coughed. "I am more prone to diseases now. It is just about the same as demigods, which occur more than you would think. He also took away a bit of my power. That is why this place is…" She went into a short fit. "That is why it is so cold around the Northern Hemisphere."

My father had done all of that. He was pretty manipulative, if he did it at the right time. But some people, like myself, Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, are better than he is.

I felt sympathetic toward her. She had been deceived, and then she was stolen from. This last year had probably been her worst.

"Come with me, Artemis," the goddess told me, "and bring your friends as well. I shall show them to their rooms." She beckoned them to come with us. "And you, Arty, will come with me to see my father."

I groaned. "Now you're gonna call me that?" I felt myself smiling, though. Maybe being here wouldn't be so bad, if she stopped calling me 'Arty.' We had both trusted someone and let them trick us into doing something stupid. And it had to something worse for me.

"Yep, so you better get used to it for the time you are here. Come with me, questers."

Annabeth said, "How did you know we were on a quest?" I could tell she had a frown on her face.

"Um, you just confirmed it, no one comes unless it is for a quest, and my daughter told me. And before you ask, 'cause I know you will, she was at the camp when you were there."

She leaned into me, putting her hand on one side of her mouth. "Don't tell anyone, but your friend, Mia, is my daughter as well."

I gasped. "So is she a daughter of you and Apollo?" I struggled to keep voice down. My surprise was shown through my voice.

She shook her head quickly. "No, no, definitely not! It is only my daughter; the daughter of Apollo gig was a cover that he was helping me with. It was just that I changed her appearance to seem like his. But she is really mine."

"Why don't you tell her? It would make her feel better, because we wouldn't even be here without her," I told her. "Keeping such a thing away from her will only break her heart." That had happened to me when I was told that Zeus was my father. I saw him a couple times beforehand so I was very distraught because he hadn't told me when he saw me.

"That's the thing, Artemis. I know she will be sad, but it would be for the best. My father was mad the last time I had a child, and I know he will be even angrier this time. I couldn't even claim her before. But I still told her, hoping that I wouldn't get caught in the act," she said. It was hard to believe that she was trusting me with this information. She barely even talked to me before.

I sighed. She probably knew what was best. She was the one that had had children; I had never even gotten close.

"However…" She looked up. "We're here. Demigods, the last two doors on the right are yours. Mia, you will sleep with Artemis, and Annabeth will sleep with Perseus. I just hope you don't do anything your parents wouldn't deem… appropriate."

I shook my head at what she was implying, seeing the small smirk on her face. The couple's cheeks tinted crimson, and the glanced at each other quickly.

"We… won't," they said as their embarrassment disappeared, walking off to the rooms down the hall. Mia followed them down, glancing at me a couple times before going in the room.

It was nice to know that she cared about me as a friend. But I, sadly, had to go meet with Boreas.

"Wait, wouldn't your father want to kill me?" I pointed out. "He would want to kill me as revenge, because Zeus had hurt his daughter."

She nodded. "True, true. I hadn't thought of that. We must hide you and your friends while you are here, then. I will see you in your room when I am available."

I walked off, wondering how we had sparked off a friendship that quickly within the small time we had known and hated each other with a passion.

I knocked on the door Mia went into lightly, hoping no one heard that. Well, other than Mia.

She came to the door, saying a soft, "Who is it?"

I told her who I was, the door almost instantly. As I looked at her, I thought about what Khione said. I stood unmoving, in the middle of the hallway.

It surprised me, as I came back to the world, that no one came.

Mia was staring at me oddly, one hand holding the door, and the other shaking her shoulder. "Artemis," she said, her tone inquisitive, "are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. I just… froze up is all." Looking her into the eye, which hurt to hold, I struggled to not tell her what her mother had said and what had to be kept from the girl.

I walked in, and she went to the living room. The light was on in there, and it cast a blue glow on the room. I followed her, checking around. It looked pretty decent, even though it was barely ever used.

Most people that ever came here were demigods, and they had been turned into statues for coming here… and being demigods.

Everything was in good condition; there was no dust on the counters, portraits, and painting; nothing was cracked or had holes in it; and the pantries, cabinets, and closets were fully stocked with foods and other necessities.

It was Khione's doing for these two rooms, but I still felt that the king and his daughter—and maybe those other two boys—had furnished these places for centuries, just in case this place became an actual business.

I wondered what would happen with the stove. Did it still use fire to cook, or did they have some alternative for it that wouldn't burn the ice in here?

But I pushed those thoughts away, not really caring about this place was managed.

I walked into the living room, where Mia sat on the couch, watching the TV. She was so engrossed in the thing like it was her first time ever watching it.

She said that she was alive hundreds of years before now. So this probably _was_ her first time watching it. Or maybe not because she had probably been back for some time and there were a couple, though rare, TVs around the camp. The one most people knew about was Dionysus' in his room.

But she watched and watched and watched. I sat down, and she didn't even acknowledge it. It was weird, because a TV had never been so entertaining to me. But now it suddenly seemed like the best thing in the world. Maybe because now I had nothing to do.

I watched as well, as she flipped the channel, trying to take in everything that had to appear. I noticed that for every show that was good, an advertisement (I think that is what they are called) would pop up.

Soon enough, I closed my eyes, feeling depleted of all energy. I felt some weight leave the chair, which meant Mia had gotten off the chair. A soft blanket fell on top of me, and that was all I needed to fall asleep.

/\

I got up, and started to look around. The first thing I noticed was that the TV had been turned off, I don't know why; next was the fact that Mia was nowhere to be found. Every room, except the closets, was wide open, and the lights were not open. The last thing that I noticed from in the place, was that the door to the hallway was opened. She must have left out, and there was no way to tell where.

I moved to the doorframe, peeking around it to make sure no one was there. I kept in mind what I had said to Khione earlier, so I wouldn't forget.

I slipped to Annabeth's room, still trying to keep notice if anyone came around this area. I could hear shouts, bouncing off the walls of the place. I couldn't hear what was said, but it sounded like it was angry.

Annabeth came to the door, rubbing her eye, which looked red. She didn't really seem affected, just her rubbing it. And I could see tear tracks on her cheeks.

"What happened, Annabeth?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she said, and right away I knew something bad had taken place while I was asleep. Annabeth would be hard to crack, but if she did…

"Annie," I asked, "what's going on? Where's Mia and Percy?"

Annabeth stood still for a second. Her face went pale. "They're gone?" she responded, looking surprised. "I thought Percy was in here, the bathroom light was on."

"Well, I'm not sure 'bout him but Mia is gone for sure; she wasn't anywhere in our room," I replied. My teeth chattered from the cold, which was nearly non-existent in the hotel rooms.

"I'll go check to see if he's here; you can come in if you'd like."

I sighed in relief. My feet were starting to hurt from standing still this long. Their room was almost exactly like the one I shared with Mia, just some of the furniture was moved around.

I sat down on the couch, staring at the wall as I thought. Khione had wanted to speak to me, but I had fell asleep. That was probably what Mia and Percy (if he was gone) were doing, and the goddess would probably come to get us two.

Khione hopefully would help us, because we needed all that we could. Zeus would probably not help us, because this was my punishment and Percy was the son of (one of) his rival(s).

There was already someone helping me, who I had yet to find out who it was. No clues as to who it was, other than the start of it, had been given to me. And it was frustrating me whenever I thought about it.

Annabeth came back, sighing. "Nope, he isn't here. He is gone with Mia." She blew her curls out of her face in frustration. "Where could they be?"

"Khione had said that she was going to talk to me later, maybe she is going to speak to everyone." She might not tell us all the same things though. That's what I was worried about. She could get someone to keep something important away from the rest, and then lose out on a special opportunity that we could have had.

"Maybe… but if she does something to them, I don't care if she's a goddess. I'll fight her no matter how small it is."

"How… romantic," the goddess remarked out of nowhere. Annabeth's expression changed slightly, I noticed. "However, that won't be needed. They're fine, physically. Mia won't be the same mentally, though."

Khione looked sad and broken. Like something she did had not gone the right way. Maybe she'd told Mia that she was her daughter. And, like many demigods do when they meet their parent, they get all emotional and ask why they weren't there for them.

But I kind of get where Mia is coming from. Khione had never helped her, and she claimed that she had lived before now. There was definitely gonna be something between them whenever they met.

She seemed like a person who could hold a grudge, even if it was a member of her family; she would retaliate whatever way she could. That sorta person.

It hurt the other gods' feelings a lot, whenever they cared enough to go see the child, when that happened.

Khione was a cold person, and she could take a lot before she really started to hurt. But to her children, she was the best person in the world. She would try to make them feel the best she could, trying to get them all they could. She would even do that to other people, if she became close enough to them.

"Why? What happened? Did you do something wrong?" I interrogated, trying to figure what happened. Saying, " _Mia won't be the same mentally, though,"_ was not very comforting.

"I had…" She choked on her words for a second. "I tried talking to her, as you said, Artemis. I-I told her that I was her mother…"

Annabeth gasped. "You're Mia's mother? Why hadn't you claimed her?"

"There's a time for everything, Annabeth. And I had not known she was back until after the war. Gaea was going to give her to me after she won the war. But she had failed, and Mia had made it to camp. Apollo told me, for some reason, and offered to help me protect her." Khione put her hand on her face, huffing.

"He 'claimed' her, tricking the demigods and gods that she was his child. He told her to come see me, and that is why she is here. But she doesn't think that I'm a good parent. Because I wasn't there for her, when her family's live were taken during the Revolutionary War," Khione finished, her voice low.

Annabeth seemed like she had a million questions on her mind. "Why did you not help her? I know Zeus doesn't allow it, but something could have been done. My mother had given me some food and a place to stay for a few days when I was going to camp."

The goddess shook her head. She glanced at me despairingly and accusingly. "I… could not stop the power of the Olympians. Zeus had taken the side of the British, and his children went after all demigods, including mine. Artemis had helped, and went after my daughter… and her father."

"The main purpose was to get more people on their side. They wanted the British to win, and they did everything in their power for the country to win. But it was to no avail. The sea was unclaimable. Poseidon had locked it down, and they could not get a thing done."

I looked down in shame. I had not known that I had killed the father of Mia. I hadn't known anything about the people living there. I just followed orders like the good daughter I am (not true at all). No questions asked.

Khione sighed. She looked super tired, and like she was trying her hardest to not hurt me. "But enough of that. We need to talk about more important things, and then you need to prepare my daughter for your quest."

/\

 **Sorry, everyone for the long wait. I had lots of things to do, from school, to traveling, and so many other things. I'll try to make more chapters soon, instead of that long wait again. Maybe every other week or something, until September.**

 **Peace!**

— **MS.R**


	4. The First Temple

**Chapter IV: The First Temple**

Khione had taken us to a room, with chains hanging from the ceiling. It was a large place, with barely anything in it. There was dust on the weapon racks on the side. Some of the swords and axes on them were rusted.

"Your friends are in there," she said, pointing to a door across the floor. A faint frown appeared on her face. She seemed sorrowful. "Please talk to Mia for me."

I was going to do that anyway, but if I wouldn't have, her saying please would have definitely changed that. A god or goddess never say "please" for anything, unless they were in dire need of something.

We stepped in, and Mia sat at the table, staring off into the corner. Percy was sitting on the couch, doing the same. As soon as he saw Annabeth, his face lit up.

I walked over to Mia, pulled a chair out, and sat. It took her a bit of time, but she finally looked at me.

I asked, "Are you okay?" when I knew she was listening.

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she tried. Her face was blank, nothing showing anything. But her eyes were something else. Tears welled in them, the light making them shine.

"Mia, it's going to be fine. She wanted to help you, as much as she could. There was nothing she wanted to do more than help, but she couldn't. But she allowed you to come back, to try and be a better parent than she had before. And make things right," I told her, a small smile on my face. I grabbed her hand. "Live with what you have, and not what you had, or wanted."

I stood and told her, "I'll go talk to her with you if you'd like."

"I'm not sure if I want to. At least right now. She had let me die, and now she just suddenly wants to help."

Annabeth glanced at me while she talked to Percy. I sighed. "Mia, don't be mad at her. It was my fault. She tried to stop it from happening. It was me who killed your father… and you…"

"Zeus had ordered me to recruit all that I could, and all people that did not fight on his side to beat the Americas had to be killed. Me, being an idiot, decided to help him, and I had to ruthlessly slaughter thousands of demigods. You were one of them."

She fixed her gaze on me, letting go of my hand. "Really?" Mia asked, probably thinking I was making this up. I wish I was.

"Yes, really."

She stared at me for a minute. More tears started to appear in her eyes before she stormed out of the room.

I didn't care if she hated me. She could hate me all she wanted, with all her heart, but at least I had gotten her to accept her Khione.

The goddess walked inside, her eyes instantly finding mine. "Thank you, Artemis," she said, her eyes sparkling.

She hugged me tightly, and I did the same. "She might not want to go with us. If she does, it will be begrudgingly."

"Why? What happened?" Khione pulled away, staring at me quizzically.

"I told her," I said, pausing for a second, "the story of what happened. How her father died. How _she_ died."

"You shouldn't have, Artemis. She didn't have to know."

"Khione, I…" I twiddled my thumbs. "I had to. There was no other way. Was I supposed to say Zeus struck her down, while she was inside her house? That Poseidon had drowned her, with the only water nearby being a small puddle? Nothing would be believable but the true story, to me at least."

She huffed, glaring at me. Her face was kind of red, and her eyes looked like a snake's. "Some things were not meant to be told. She could have never known what happened, that you killed her, that I was powerless to stop it. But you went out of your own will, changing all of my plans by telling this stupid story. You lie about everything else; why couldn't you lie about this?"

That hurt me more than it should have. We barely even talked to each other, so why was she affecting me? "I don't lie about everything, but—" I was cut off by the goddess, her hands being held up in front of me.

"But what? Gaea was way better than these gods, than Olympus, than _you_. She told everything straight up, no sugar-coating, no lies, just the truth. She was evil, but she acted better than your Olympians."

Even if Gaea was straight up with what was going on, there was no way she was better than us. She wanted to destroy Earth, so she could remake as it was before. That meant she would even kill the humans that did nothing.

Khione had to be really mad. Ice started to freeze around the door, sealing it shut. I had forgotten that the other demigods were in here, so they would probably be in serious trouble if she actually froze it in place.

They had moved to the corner of the room, and Khione stopped when she had looked their direction. She looked appalled at what she had done.

"I'm sorry, demigods. That was my fault. I overreacted. But she had it coming." Khione had a sheepish smile on her face. She scratched the back of her head, and the ice around the door disappeared.

Apparently, Mia had just been caught up in the moment. I apologized to her and she shrugged, saying it was the past.

Khione must have talked to her or something. She seemed to be happier than she was before, when I had talked to her.

But we were going to leave by the end of the day, because it was edging closer to the end of November. There was no more reason to stay here, just Khione wanted to show Mia how to do a trick, and _maybe_ (the goddess said it was a huge maybe) Percy could do it. If Poseidon allowed it.

She didn't want anyone else to see it till she knew it could be done. She said it would take a lot out of someone new to their powers, as Mia was.

Annabeth and I just sat, doing naught but sitting. We were bored out of our minds, just watching a stupid TV show.

We sat there for almost an hour before we heard the door open slightly. Our heads turned so quickly, they could have fallen off. Mia stepped inside, grinning widely.

Following her came Percy. "We can go now if you guys want," he said. "Khione said we were finished."

"What did you guys do?" Annabeth asked curiously, her eyes narrowed at the two.

"My mom said not to tell you guys, I don't know why. Probably because she said Zeus would get extremely angry or something," Mia replied smoothly.

I shrugged. "Are you guys ready?" I asked. "We really need to go." I wasn't even half ready, which is what I could have been doing while I was just sitting here. But I hadn't thought about that.

All of them shook their heads, minus Mia. She hadn't really brought anything, other than the necessities. She had her stuff in just one bag, unless they were already worn. It was probably enchanted by her mother as well.

We all started to move, the couple leaving for their room. I packed quickly, and it was all down to the other two demigods to be ready.

Soon enough, they came in, both of them holding their bags. I stood up and grabbed mine, and we all made our way down the steps.

Khione stood where we had landed Blackjack, smiling as we came. "All of your stuff, I think, is enchanted, like your clothing, backpacks, and weapons."

"Thank you, Mom," Mia smiled.

"Oh, no," Khione said, "don't thank me. I didn't do that. Though I was going to."

It must have been the person who wrote the note, who was the person I'd seen in the forest. I guess. But why were they doing this? Was it because of pity? Because we would lose without their help?

"Beat Nyx for me, demigods." We started to leave, with Mia and I riding on the same Pegasus and Annabeth and Percy on the other. As we started to see the water below us, we slowed. I don't why, because we needed to complete this quest as fast as possible.

It took so long to reach Athens, that I was numb from being still so long. It was such an unusual feeling, that I rarely felt because I was always on the move. We stopped once, because the Pegasi had to rest, but that's it.

We landed at a hotel that was pretty nice. It was called Athens Gate Hôtel. There were modern things, mixed with Greek things. As we booked the room, we were offered some Greek candles for the room, and some water to take up with us. The candles smelled amazing, as they had always.

A porter came and led us to our rooms, helping us carry some of our bags. Our room was closer to the rooftop, which we were told gave us an amazing view of the Acropolis. We could eat breakfast on the roof, while also having a view of one of Zeus's temples.

Since it was that close, that would be the first temple we checked. Might as well just check all of them.

But then I remembered the first line of the prophecy. " _Four shall go east to the goddess' temple."_

I hadn't thought about any of the prophecy's lines since we left camp. It was stupid. This made no sense whatsoever. And we wanted to finish this before Christmas.

We stepped inside of the room, and it disappointed me how small it was. There were two rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen area. I groaned, knowing that we would probably have to share the beds.

I went inside the other room, and, to my surprise, there were two beds. Both were small, but it worked. I didn't want to share a bed with anyone. At all.

They came into this room after they put their stuff down, sitting on the beds. I stretched because my legs were still a little numb.

"Artemis, do you know of any temples nearby us?"

I shook my head. "The prophecy specifically states, _Four shall go east to the goddess' temple._ The only close is a temple to Zeus, or maybe they could be talking about the Acropolis," I stated. "But that's been destroyed for centuries."

"The prophecy doesn't specify, so we should just check around the place," Percy said. "There're those tunnels the half-snake king lived in that we could also look through, because they could lead under the Acropolis."

Annabeth nodded, seeming to know what he was talking about. I did not, however, so they would have to inform me later if they wanted. "We could try. We just have to find Kekrops again."

About an hour later, we started to get moving. We would check Zeus' temple, so we could get anything out of it that we could.

First would be the Acropolis though. That was a priority while we were here. Since it was made for a goddess, or goddesses since it was for Athena Nike.

I didn't think whatever the thing we were trying to find, the Dagger of the Dark, was going to be found there. But might as well try.

As we left, a tingling sensation was going through my arm. I ignored it for a little bit, as we walked toward the Acropolis. It got stronger a little after a while, that I couldn't ignore it.

I took a step back, accidentally running into a guy that behind me. "Sorry," I said, though I really didn't mean it. But the tingling died down a bit, which I guessed was meant to be showing me where I needed to go.

I quickly caught up to where the others were, where Annabeth was trying to tell them that they needed to go to the other side.

"Artemis?" I heard a voice, as if it was all around me. "Artemis?" I glanced at the others, and all of them acted like they did not hear it.

So was this in my mind?

" _Of course it is!_ " the voice said, and I scowled. I didn't like when people read my mind. Why couldn't I keep my thoughts private? But that was extremely hypocritical. I read people's minds left and right, without regret.

 _Who are you?_

 _I'm sorry, dear Artemis,_ the person said, sounding pretty genuine. _I cannot tell you that right now. If I tell you, Zeus will find out about me helping and he might give me the same problem as you._

I tried to keep up with the others, but they were walking faster and faster. And if I was going to talk to whoever this was, I would lag behind for sure.

 _Why are you helping us?_ I asked, before doing a light jog to catch up. We were almost at the Acropolis, and it looked amazing from where we were. If it was still how it was before, it would have truly been a beauty. But it had to be destroyed.

The woman laughed, or I thought it sounded like a woman. _I have helped in every war there has been as of now. I think all gods have. Some less than others._ She seemed to resent him a little, like Poseidon or Hades did.

 _But why help me? Help us?_ It's weird how, when I turn mortal I suddenly have someone trying to help, but never any other time except when I ask.

 _Because if I don't, we're gonna lose, as you had told Zeus. She did tell you that herself, didn't she?_

I didn't remember anything like that happening. And why would Nyx come to me just to tell me that if the gods didn't help the demigods we would lose?

 _You are the one that told him, so she had to tell you_ , the goddess replied. _But… I need you to do something. When you get to the Acropolis, on one of the pillars you should see a symbol and three letters. Place your hand over it, and keep what you get for later._

I felt the presence leave my mind, though I had a few more questions I needed to ask. I shrugged and quickly caught up with the others, who had just been about to turn the corner.

"We're here," Annabeth breathed, as if it was her first time seeing the Acropolis. I knew it wasn't, because Gaea had her giants wait here for us gods and the demigods. But she was actually able to look at it this time without knowing that she might die from going there.

There was a passageway, leading underground. It was dark, so dark that literally nothing could be seen. Percy stepped down the stairs first, cautiously. He took out a pen, which he turned into his sword. It gave a little bit of light, but not enough to show if anything came behind us. I heard light movement all around us, causing me to glance around the place.

We stayed close, with Mia and I at the back. So I was supposed to be looking for a symbol (that I didn't know what it looked like), on a pillar, in the dark. Or did she mean inside of the ruins?

But as we rounded the next corner, brightness flooded my sight. I squinted a few times because my eyes had become accustomed to the darkness so quickly. A torch on the wall, that looked to be recently lit.

Annabeth took it from its holder and handed it to me. Finally, I could see something. We trudged on, going the same direction. We somehow ended up behind the Acropolis, before we decided to just to go up it.

As we reached the top, the wind blew us all around the place. I caught my balance quickly, and the others seemed to have done the same.

"You guys okay?" Mia said, speaking up for the first time ever since we left Khione's. She kept her gaze off of me, which meant she still resented me for the story. I felt bad for that. But this was not the time. We had to get this dagger.

"Yeah, yeah." Annabeth pushed herself off the ground, looking around. She scowled as she did, her gaze falling on me. Or at least I thought so. "Nothing's _here_."

We started to leave, but then I remembered. The goddess (whoever she was) wanted me to do something. The only person who noticed, since we were both at the back.

When I was close, she whispered to me, "Artemis! What're you doing?"

Annabeth and Percy didn't even turn. Even though Mia whispered, it was still pretty loud.

"Can you wait for me?" I asked. "I need to do something."

She nodded quickly, disappearing around the corner for a second. I searched around the place, and no symbol popped out to me. There was nothing, as Annabeth had said.

But I kept looking. There was absolutely no symbol on any of the pillars, and I was sure that they would be on the side facing inward, rather than be the one that could make you fall off the edges.

"What're you lookin' for?" Mia questioned me, moving right beside me. "Maybe I could help you, to get it done quicker."

Could I tell her though? Did that goddess want me to do what she said all alone? But I gave up thinking about that quickly. Not everything can be done alone.

"There's supposed to be a symbol somewhere. maybe—" She cut me off promptly.

"Really?" Her gaze fell on me, and she tilted her head slightly. "There are symbols literally everywhere here."

She could see them, but I couldn't? I had once been a goddess, that could notice nearly anything different between something, or the smallest of things. Now I could see none of that. Zeus did turn me into a _mortal_.

"Is there one on a pillar? I don't know what it would be…"

She nodded, pointing to the back. "Second pillar on the left, all the way back; there's one of what seems to be a quiver."

I focused on that pillar, and she was correct. There was a quiver of arrows, with the letters _g, o,_ and _t_ on it. Got what? There wasn't much I could make out of that.

I walked over and put my hand over the quiver. It stung a little, but it wasn't too bad. I now felt something in my pocket, but we had to get moving, so I would have to wait.

"Ready?" she asked, smiling at me. So did she hate me, or did she not? Sometimes it seemed like she did, sometimes it was the opposite. Was this some sort of game?

I nodded in reply. She led, saying, "I told them to go to the hotel. So they should be going there."

I'm glad that she thought that far. I definitely wouldn't have. I was focusing on finding the symbol, and I didn't even find it myself. _She_ did that.

Mia really was a good person; she had some of the best qualities as a person, she was smart, and she thought ahead of now. But she could hold a grudge like Hades and his children could. That was probably her fatal flaw.

But whatever her flaw was, it didn't matter. If she wanted help, she would get it. If she didn't, that's on her.

We were almost at the hotel, and I was tired. My feet hurt, I moved sluggishly, and my eyes were droopy.

Those were three things that never happened to me when I was a goddess. Well, two of those. But that was beside the point. Mortal bodies sucked, major.

I sighed as we reached the doors, bumping into the door. I wanted to sleep, and I wanted to be a goddess again.

Who knew how long it would take for both of those things. I felt like I would never sleep, with how many people were waiting for the elevator once we got in, and I would probably have to sit through this war as a demigod.

 _Four shall go east to a goddess' temple,_

 _A great threat you may mistakenly assemble,_

 _While searching through the moonstone,_

 _And one shall be lost in the Pit's maze of bones,_

 _To find the Dagger of the Dark_


	5. Captured

**Chapter V: Captured**

I stepped into our room, the aroma of food filling my nose. My stomach growled as soon as it hit me.

I had to eat. I'm only just remembering that. I'm a mortal now. _Great._

Mia was right behind me as we went to the kitchen area of the place. On the table was basically a feast. I don't remember what most of the stuff was there, but it looked delicious.

I moved to the table quickly, taking a glance around the place. _Where's Annabeth and Percy?_ Wouldn't they want some of the food too? Why would they leave out all of this food?

They both stepped into the kitchen, hand in hand. They acted surprised to see us. "Where have you two been?"

I opened my mouth to talk, though I couldn't say anything. All that came out was a quiet, "Wuh."

Luckily Mia was here. "We were out and about, y'know? Checking out some nearby stores," she lied. I didn't get why. We probably should tell them what we did. Too bad I couldn't talk.

She gave me a look, though I didn't know what she meant by it. She shook her head.

"Oh," Annabeth said, her eyes darting around the room. She whispered something to Percy. I think _weapons_ or something.

He smirked down at me, whispering something back to Annabeth. _What are they doing?_

I backed up a little, running into Mia. I tripped, though she caught me and pushed me up.

Annabeth advanced on us at an almost godly speed. She'd never been that fast. She pinned Mia against the wall, and before I could react Percy slammed into me.

"Too easy," the Annabeth impersonator taunted, a grin on her face. "Fell right for the food."

"Your idea on the using the Mist was excellent," the man said. "Though I thought fighting a goddess would be harder." Everything around me disappeared, minus Mia and the two people. Annabeth and Percy were actually in the corner, bound and gagged.

"Nyx wants them alive, remember that, Liz." The man grabbed some rope and tied me up. I guess that lady was doing the same to Mia.

"What do we do again? The spell, I mean," the woman, Liz apparently, said, blowing a breath.

"I was hoping you remembered it," the man groaned, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Liz. "You do it; I'd probably fail and get us killed."

She glared at the man. "And you think I'd do better? I'm not a child of Hecate like you are."

Did these two usually work together? Their partnership seemed dysfunctional, as if both of them thought they were better than the other. I've only seen the man praise the girl, though, so that probably wasn't true.

"Just say the words as they are written on the paper, but _quietly_ ," the man told her.

She muttered some words and the whole room was engulfed in darkness, swirling around the place like a tornado. Everything was being sucked inside, and then everything was still.

I could see nothing, and all I felt was the coldness of the floor. The walls radiated power, but it was centered in one place. Right in front of us.

"Is she here? Didn't she want them?" Liz whispered.

"Yes, I did," Nyx's voice filled the place. It scared me a little. "Though not _now_. Their quests are more important to me than capturing them."

"I'm sorry, milady," the man said, bowing his head in front of me. I could see him, at least his outline. But where was the woman? Liz had just disappeared.

I felt something cold on my neck, wrapping around it. It was someone's fingers. Someone was trying to choke me.

Close to my ear, but quiet enough so that only I could hear, Liz said, "You better have a plan, _goddess._ 'Cause we're gonna be coming after you and your little gang."

If we were been defeated this easily, what could we possibly do? They were going to come after us, and they knew what to do. I wasn't really _accustomed_ to this body yet, so I would provide little to no help in a fight. Well, that was probably a lie. I _had_ done a bit in that first fight we got into back at the camp.

We reappeared inside of our hotel room, and the food was still there. A card sat against on of the plates, saying, _You'll need it._

I looked at the others, and Annabeth and Mia looked dazed. Percy had his eyes closed, as if he was trying to get rid of something in his head.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, though it didn't sound like me. It sounded like someone was speaking for me.

"That voice," Annabeth said, and she had the same voice as me. It was that of someone I knew before. There was a couple of seconds before I realized who it was; it was _Zoë's._

Why am I hearing Zoë's voice? She was dead. There was no way that I heard her.

"She's coming," Mia said like she was in a trance. "She's going to find us."

Black dots started to cloud my vision until I could see nothing. I passed out.

When I woke up, I was on my bed. Well, a bed. I didn't have one of my own. It was the hotel's.

But I was extremely comfortable and I didn't want to get up. Footsteps filled my ears, though I didn't even open my eyes to look at them.

I lay there for awhile before I felt stirring beside me. Who else had passed out earlier?

It turned out to be Mia. She accidentally hit me, making my eyes open quickly.

She was right in my face, staring at me. A sheepish smile was on her face. "Sorry, Artemis."

I didn't say anything as I stood, noticing my state of near undress. Good thing only Mia would see it. I didn't even want _her_ to see it though.

I quickly grabbed one of the towels on the nightstand and covered myself. I grabbed my bag and moved to the bathroom.

It took a bit before I got out of the shower, but I put on some pretty basic clothes. It ended with a silver hoodie that I took from my cabin.

"We're gonna be leaving soon," Mia told me as I put my bag on the bed.

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Out of this hotel." Mia stretched as she sat up. She sighed as she looked away from me. "We were found pretty easy, so that means monsters will pick up our scents pretty easily."

That made sense, though my mind kept thinking about where we had gone. Nyx had said "quests," meaning we would have more than one, and that they were important to her. Why though? What importance could getting a weapon and searching or fighting several other things do for her?

"C'mon, Artemis." I blinked and looked toward the speaker. Annabeth stood at the door, her arms crossed as she fixed her gaze on me.

"Wh—" I sputtered. I just couldn't seem to ever get my words out.

"We're waiting on _you,"_ Annabeth told me, leaving the room. I put my bag on my back and stepped out. Each of them leaned against the wall, minus Annabeth who had just left.

"Ready?" Mia asked.

"Yeah." I nodded, and they shouldered their backpacks. We moved out quickly, being stopped at the checkout desk. It didn't take too long before we were gone, traveling through the city to another hotel.

There were _a lot_ of them to choose from, so we just randomly chose one. Hopefully it wasn't one of those bad hotels that were just about everywhere.

It took almost a half hour to get the hotel by foot. We stood in front of a giant hotel, but it was smaller than the previous one.

We stepped inside and it was like everything was still. All motions ceased and all eyes were on us. My cheeks were tinted pink as I noticed it. We had _everyone's_ attention.

It all resumed as normal, though I could tell that something was changed. I frowned as we walked up to the desk.

"What do you need?" the man at the desk said, a giant, welcoming smile on his face.

"Can we book a room, please? For four," Annabeth told him, handing him a small wad of cash.

"Here's your card, Miss Chase." A small plastic green card with numbers on it was handed to her. He reached under the desk and grabbed three more of them. He gave them to the rest of us.

"Your room number is on the eighth floor, the one with the crown on it," he instructed, before turning away to the next customer.

We went up the elevator and down the hall of the eighth floor. There was a long space between our room and the one closest to it. Why did we get a luxury room?

The main room is what took up most of the space. The whole wall on the other side of the room was a large window, split into lots of panes. The view showed most of Athens, even the ruins.

I noticed a door over on the side, that led to a balcony. The door was also glass. From here I could see most of the city.

A large TV was on a stand, a black screen that said _Press 0 for the_ _menu._

There were two couches in the middle of the place, and both looked super comfortable. Hopefully they really were that way, even though I probably really wouldn't be in here very often.

"We'll take this room," Annabeth said as she stood next to the door on the right. "There should be another room up those stairs..."

"Alright," Mia replied.

I went up the stairs and went through the rooms. The first was a bathroom, which was pretty basic, the next was a laundry room, towels and cloths sitting on top of them, and the last was the bedroom.

There were two beds here, meaning that Mia and I wouldn't have to share this time. On the side of each bed, there was a nightstand, and another one was in between them.

I lay down on the bed, smiling to myself as I felt the softness of it. It was like snow.

I felt content. Lazy, yeah, but content. I just wanted to stay here for a bit and do nothing. Even though I had just woke like half an hour ago, I wanted to sleep again. I refused to, though.

I waited there until someone came through the door, which caused me to sit up to see who it was. Mia, of course, was the who.

Neither of us spoke to each for some time. She put her bag down and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Artemis," she said. My eyes met hers as she turned. Her orbs glistened in the light of the sun. "Help me."

I slid off of my bed and moved closer. When I was beside her, she faced down.

Her movements were shaky, and she trembled as she shifted over a bit.

"What's wrong?" There were so many problems as of late. Annabeth had been "killed," we were being chased by two magical freaks who worked for Nyx, Mia's been keeping mostly to herself (that was more of a problem for herself), and now _this_. Whatever _this_ was.

Mia grabbed one of my hands with her own and lead it to herself. She was still jittering all over, and it made me a bit nervous.

Was she hurt? She made no indication that she had been. She probably tried to hide it from us.

My fingers hit her neck; there was a cut, and I could feel blood spewing out onto my index finger. I couldn't tell how big it was without seeing it since she held my hand in place, and she had it on the other side of her.

She winced just a little, squirming away a little.

"That man… he cursed us."

"As in our whole group?"

Mia pulled my hands away from her, dropping it at her side. She covered the cut with her hand.

She hesitantly nodded her head. "I think… yeah, he did." Her eyes scanned my face. "Do you have any… nectar or ambrosia. It hurts… like _really_ bad."

I looked for my bag, which I thought I'd set right beside the door. Apparently I put it by the door instead. I sighed and let my legs fall off the bed. I did _not_ feel like walking.

"Can you… get my bag for me?"

Her hand stayed on the cut as she stood, wrapping a finger around the strap of the bag and pulling it over.

I slid it up the side, setting it down in front of me.

 _I'm seriously going to need new clothes._ Completely irrelevant thought, yeah, but it was true. I couldn't go that long without newer clothes, though I'd have to deal for a bit. I had no money on-hand.

"Here you go." I reached down into the bottom of the pack and pulled out a clear plastic bag of ambrosia. I didn't have any nectar (unluckily).

She quickly bit into it as she grabbed it from my hand.

It worked its magic quickly; I could see the cut starting to fade away, though she still winced just a little.

"It… it burns." Her fist clenched around the godly food. "I'm… it doesn't feel right. What's happening?"

I moved to her side, gripping her arm. What was I to do? I'd never seen anyone take godly food that had none of our blood in them. Mortals, when given my blessing, were free to use it, but I never knew about what happened with other gods. Was Khione just _blessing_ Mia, rather than being her actual mother?

Mia shook away from me when her hands were as hot as a sauna. I didn't see any of the normal symptoms of a mortal eating godly food. (Zeus told us about what would happen some time ago.)

"Does it hurt?" I asked stupidly. I probably should have been doing something about it, like getting some ice or some water. But I didn't. I'm a retard, I know.

She gulped and pursed her lips. "Yeah, it hurts really, really bad. Not like 'I'm gonna die' burning, just like I stuck my hand inside a burning pot."

She tried to force herself to smile, but it ended up looking like she was about to do something she hated. "It's not like I haven't been hurt badly before. Like, you know, when I was killed."

That hurt a _lot._ Just her bringing it up (even though I had already cleared it with her once) affected me a little too much.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, and I knew she didn't hear it. Instead, I put my hand on her shoulder, which was _burning up_ , and said, "Just… tell me if, like, you can't move or something, alright?"

She nodded to me but did not say anything.

 _Apollo,_ I tried to call, but I knew it wouldn't work. Zeus would not allow him to. _I need your help._

I didn't try again. As helpful as it potentially could have been, there was no chance of it happening.

"What do…" Her voice faltered. Was this one of the symptoms? I couldn't remember (I hate being a mortal).

Her hands rubbed together, and a wisp of smoke flew up from them. "What is going on..?"

I recoiled away. My fingers were on fire (not really). Her face was starting to turn red.

The door opened and someone rushed in. I couldn't see who, but it _definitely_ was not Annabeth or Percy.

"You alright, Mia?"

It was Khione. It had to be. The only voice like it was Mia's, and even then it was different.

The goddess glanced at me for a second, her face blank. Had I done something wrong?

 _Well, yeah, Artemis, you did. You didn't help Mia whatsoever._

I nearly facepalmed. I _hadn't_ done anything. How stupid could I be?

Khione cupped her daughter's face, which started to create a blast of snow to circle around the girl.

"You're going to be a-okay, Mia," she said.

"Mom," muttered Mia, shifting a little as Khione's hands dropped.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"It's not… it still hurts a lot. What's going on?"

Khione blinked. "It's… nothing, my dear. It'll all go away in a bit. Be strong for me, alright? It's going to be fine."

Mia frowned, her pain evident on her face. Her eyes were dark, with just a little red in them. "It's not _okay,_ Mom." She coughed. "It's not the ambrosia. Those two people did _something_ to us, like maybe a spell. It's what is happening to me. They cursed me, and I think the ambrosia caused it."

Khione froze (yeah, ironic, right?) with her eyes narrowed. She had to be thinking about something, or maybe occupying another body, which she probably could have done if she had been speaking to me and the others at the same time mentally.

"That's why…" Khione muttered, "that's why I felt an ancient power. Something stronger than even Nyx's magic."

 _Woah. How could anything be stronger than what Nyx did?_

"I feel like a force even older than the Titans are trying to use you for something, much like Nyx is doing."

 **Sorry if this feels rushed. I'll try to get something better out soon.**

 **But how is the story so far? Give me some suggestions. It would help a lot.**


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